JPC In the News

"Poetry event sure to be Gripp’ing"

Thursday, October 12, 2006

By TIERNRY McAFEE

The Free Lance- Star

  Tony Ares, a pastor at Mars Hill Ministry in Fredericksburg,  had already been ordained in a local Baptist church  when he read a book that suggested religious beliefs should be presented in a nontraditional format.

  About the same time, Ares also found out about spoken word,  which is the artistic performance of poetry.

  “I saw it as the perfect opportunity to share the message God has given me,” Ares said. “I Had never written poetry before, but since I was writing about topic, the words just flowed out of me”

  Ares is one of the 15 spoken-word poets who will compete in the third annual Gripp the Mic invitational poetry slam.  The Jazz Poetry Café will host the event Saturday at Gargoyles Coffee bar in North Stafford.

  Gripp the Mic will be led by spoken-word poet Drew Anderson, who calls him self  “Droopy the Brokeballer.”  It will consist of three rounds in which 15 poets compete for $1000.00

  Ares says that through spoken-word poetry, he has been able to reach new audiences and increase attendance for the ministry, which also meets at Gargoyles.  Ares believes that the spoken word could have an impact on the urban population as well as the church community.

  “The thing I like about spoken-word poetry is that it hasn’t been corrupted by major corporations,”  he said. “Hip-hop could have been wonderful for the urban community, but its direction was twisted by big industries.”

  Phillip Gregory the event’s organizer and the founder of G&A Productions and Jazz Poetry Café said there is a distinct difference between slam poetry and literary poetry.

“In literary poetry,  you listen to the words and the symmetry and the structure, but in a slam competition you need to be able to personify what you’re trying to say,”  Gregory said. “…It’s not sitting in your college classroom listening to your classmates recite a haiku.  It’s more intense than that.”

   In 2004 and 2005, Gripp the Mic was voted one of the five best poetry slam events on the East Coast by The National Underground Spoken Word & Poetry Awards.

   “The outcome was phenomenal and the sponsorships were immaculate,” Gregory said. In his experience, slam poetry has no boundaries in terms of the race, age and background of its audience. “I often find those who are 18 sitting in the same place enjoying the same vibe as those who are 48,” he said. “ The beauty of slam poetry is that it has a very different demographic that’s mixed and cultured. It has no demographics color-wise.

  The majority of poets competing in the event were selected through poetry Slam Inc., the official non-profit organization in charge of overseeing the international coalition of poetry slams. Many of the poets participating in Gripp the Mic are nationally ranked by PSI, Gregory said. 

  Another poet competing in the slam is Antoinette Houston, who has a written poetry since she was 11 and performed since she was 17. “it was such a relief to finally get the emotions that were in me out,” she said.

  Houston said her work focuses on her personal experiences in relationships with friends, family and significant others. For example one of her pieces, called “Dear mama,’ is about her mother’s battle with cocaine.

  Gregory is considering offering a student discount to attract a younger crowd. “ Spoken word has gained so much momentum in recent years,” he said. ‘There are poetry clubs in colleges throughout Virginia. There are students who are interested in poetry that still don’t know about slam poetry, but it’s just a matter of exposure.”

 For more information, visit www.jazzpoetrycafe.net or e-mail phillip.Gregory@jazzpoetrycafe.net.